Town board OKs Raindance Metro District on first reading

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The Windsor Town Board approved the first reading of a service plan at the board’s Monday meeting for the proposed Raindance Metropolitan District, to be located at the northeast corner of Weld County Road 13 and Crossroads Boulevard.

Town Attorney Ian McCargar said after the March 3 work session between the town board and the district’s developer, their attorneys worked hard to prepare the service plan before the board Monday.

The Raindance Metropolitan District is expected to include 2,800 units, built over five phases of construction, said Jim Mock, the board’s attorney on special district matters. He said the projected investment, including water and other infrastructure, should be about $86 million, financed with about $93 million in bonds over the next 10 years.

Mock said after reviewing the service plan, there were two departures from the town’s model — a mill levy higher than the model plan allows and a plan that would allow revenues from taxes pay for the district’s infrastructure on a pay-as-you-go basis.

The district is proposing to collect 39 mills, 4 mills more than the maximum 35 mills allowed in the town’s model service plan. As for financing infrastructure, the model plan currently requires it to be paid through debt, not on an as-you-go basis as the developer requested, Mock said.

He said he wasn’t concerned about infrastructure financing but thought that the mill levy question was the main issue and said it was a fairly straightforward policy question for the board to consider.

Mayor John Vazquez asked how the town originally came up with the 35 mill limit, and Mock said the decision goes back about seven years, when the previous board made the decision.

The board members thanked town staff, the applicant and lawyers on both sides for working hard to get the service plan ready in time for the meeting.

Martin Lind, the applicant, also thanked the board and Mock for working to get the plan ready for the meeting. He offered maximum mill levy rates for other surrounding areas and said that Windsor stands out as lower than others at 35 mills. He said he thinks it’s good policy to set a mill levy cap, but collecting an additional four mills on a home costing $325,000 would only amount to an additional $9 each month for that resident.

“The reason we want 39 (mills) is because it creates consistency south of Windsor for us in our projects,” Lind said. “The pay-as-you-go — I don’t need to elaborate on that other than that it creates a great document that allows us to save residents some money, basically.”

Vazquez said he would support the ordinance, as he currently lives in a 39-mill community and said he’s been pleased with the amenities it provides to its residents.

The board followed suit, passing the ordinance unanimously on first reading. The item is scheduled to come before the board for a second reading and public hearing March 24.

“The pay-as-you-go — I don’t need to elaborate on that other than that it creates a great document that allows us to save residents some money, basically. Martin Lind Applicant